always a cynic

Yesterday I went to get a haircut. I decided to try out a new place off of Castro that was well-reviewed and not too expensive.

Initially I stopped by before work, but they were full, so after waiting for a good five minutes for the hairstylist to get off what appeared to be a social phone call, I made a "2:30pm" appointment, but was told to come by ten minutes early. When I came back, the hairstylist was working on coloring another customer's hair, so I had to wait the ten minutes plus an extra five minutes for her to finish. I was starting to feel a teensy bit annoyed, but figured I'd reserve judgment.

As she was cutting my hair, a guy came by from the Thai restaurant next door and dropped off a Thai iced tea and a box of chicken, for the hairstylist. He hung around chatting with her for a few minutes, and all of a sudden he asked us (me and the woman having her hair colored) if we wanted some chicken. I said yes, figuring he'd share a piece or two, but he came back fifteen minutes later with two full styrofoam takeout boxes, each containing four or five pieces, with rice and sauce. I thought maybe I'd misunderstood so I offered to pay him, but he told us not to be silly.

It's really hard to feel anything but good about a haircut where you get fed free Thai food, but I do think the haircut turned out pretty well, anyway.

On the drive back to work, I started to wonder if he was just nice, or whether the free chicken distribution was a calculated PR move...and then I scolded myself for being so cynical. These days I find I am always surprised by acts of kindness, which I think is a bad sign. I should really work on giving people the benefit of the doubt more often.